Swiss Blockchain Startup Newcomers in 2018 – Part 2:

Blockchain investment research & consulting firm BlockNovum just published its highly anticipated second issue of the Swiss Blockchain Startup Newcomer Map. The Zurich based company conducted one of the most in-depth analysis to date of startups in Switzerland that leverage the blockchain technology.

Over 100 new blockchain-related projects were identified and assessed. As selection criteria projects have to be based in Switzerland and needed to be “Newcomers” in 2018 (details below). Based on the assessment BlockNovum shortlisted the top 10 highest quality projects, which convinced with a great team, a promising business model, continuous progress & traction, and relevance for early-stage investors.

The map comes with the accompanying research report, which includes in-depth assessments of the selected projects and provides more background on BlockNovum’s research methodology and due diligence framework.

Similar to our first report, the aim of this market screening is to provide a thorough overview about Swiss newcomers in the blockchain space for investors and industry exponents alike. The map helps navigate the ever-growing crypto landscape in Switzerland by listing all relevant new startups in one place and classifying them in different categories. The in-depth assessments showcase BlockNovum’s due diligence services, available for VCs, Family Offices, and asset managers with an interest in allocating capital to cryptoassets or blockchain startups.

Download:

Full report: Swiss Blockchain Startup Newcomers – Map & Assessments  [PDF – 4.2 MB]

One Pager: Swiss Blockchain Startup Newcomer Map [PDF – 0.7 MB]

Swiss Blockchain Startups Newcomer Map – Part 2:

Highlights:

• 106 new blockchain projects / startups were identified and screened.
• With 52 projects, almost half are using blockchain in a Finance context. This confirms the observation from the first map that Switzerland has a strong tendency towards FinTech. 5 out of the top 10 are Finance-related startups: Ambrpay, A$h (former: Midas), Blockstate, Leva, and Oakura.
• 22 startups were classified in the Organizational category, which includes use cases that coordinate, store, track, and organize data and resources. E.g. projects in logistics, energy, or governance. Even though the selection included a handful of great startups, none made it to the top 10. However, some interesting projects worth mentioning in this category are Workonomix, Weeve Network, and Agora.
• Projects in the Technology & Infrastructure category came in third with 18 startups. BlockNovum selected 3 projects for the top 10: Nimiq, Sygnum, and Truebit.
• Projects in the Retail & Entertainment (including gaming, e-commerce, education) and Personal Use (e.g. personal wallet, digital identity, social networks) category came in last with 7 projects each. Even though it did not make the top 10, Odem deserves being mentioned in the Retail category.2 Projects in the Personal Use category made it to the top 10: AirGap and PassOn.

BlockNovum believes that the short-listed projects make great use of the blockchain technology and have the potential to disrupt their respective industries. To find out more, you can find in-depth assessments and portraits of the top 10 startups in the full report. Have a look.

Methodology

Based on BlockNovum’s dealflow and startup database, we considered projects for the map that met following criteria:

• Blockchain focus: The project needs to make us of the blockchain technology, be a service provider for the blockchain ecosystem, or work on blockchain infrastructure / hardware.
• Switzerland based: The company needs to be founded and operational in Switzerland, or have its headquarters / foundation in Switzerland.
• Newcomers: The project was founded in 2018, secured initial funding (ICO, VC) in 2018, or showed visible initial traction in 2018 (e.g. release of beta).

These selection criteria yielded 106 projects that were not covered in the first issue of the startup map and met the requirements.

Next, the startups were categorized in five categories: Technical, Organizational, Financial, Retail & Entertainment, and Personal. A full description of the categories can be found in the first issue. Often an allocation to one category was not easy. Therefore, some projects might well fit also into another category.

All 106 projects were high-level assessed by BlockNovum based on 4 assessment criteria:

1. Quality of founders and team: Professional background, relevant experience, academics, personal assessment.
2. Business model and product: Does the project have an innovative solution for which BlockNovum projects high market demand? Is there a promising business model to generate returns?
3. Eligibility for early stage investments: The company is looking to raise capital via Seed / VC funding or Token Sale.
4. Traction and continuous progress: Project shows trackable progress via Beta release, MVP, regular community updates. Wining of relevant partnerships, clients, or awards.

As a result of the assessment, the top 10 startups were identified.

The in-depth assessment of the shortlisted companies (in the report) is based on BlockNovum’s blockchain startup assessment framework, which consists of 10 categories that are analyzed and rated.

The same type of startup assessments & due diligence reports are offered on-demand or project-based by BlockNovum as part of our services for institutional investors.

Top 10 Startups

BlockNovum’s top 10 selection of high-quality startups are:

Ambrpay: Payment gateway solution that supports subscription payments via smart contracts. It enables subscription payment functionality for cryptocurrencies to be used for established services, such as Netflix or Spotify.

AirGap: Open source project that develops a new crypto wallet standard via a two-device approach to make secure key handling more accessible. Apps include AirGap Vault and AirGap Wallet for private users and Airgap Knox for institutional self-custody of crypto.

A$h: A$H is an investment app targeting millennial retail investors. It enables mobile investments in digital assets and offers gamification, as well as social features. The app runs on the Melon protocol,
a decentralized fund management system.

BlockState: The BlockState infrastructure platform is a stack of software and legal modules that automate resource-intensive investment banking processes such as the issuance of products, valuation and custody of assets, clearing & settlement.

Leva: Leva is reinventing private equity (PE) through automation. Their solution makes transactions more efficient and gives PE funds a simpler way to set-up smart investment syndicates and funds. Through Leva investors get unprecedented access to PE and can better diversify their portfolio.

Nimiq: Nimiq aims to be the easiest-to-use decentralized payment protocol & ecosystem. It is browser-based and installation-free. Hence, Nimiq wants to bring the benefits of blockchain technology to the mainstream by developing a blockchain / payment protocol designed for the average user.

Oakura: Oakura supports early stage ventures through its decentralized access to capital and business expertise. With a marketplace built on the blockchain, Oakura uniquely aligns the incentives of startup ecosystem stakeholders by paying service providers with OAK, representing startup equity.

PassOn: PassOn builds a systemic infrastructure to bring inheritance into the digital age by leveraging blockchain and smart contract technologies. The infrastructure and standard allow to secure digital assets and directly transfer them to beneficiaries of inheritance.

Sygnum: Sygnum develops an integrated solution to securely issue, store, trade and manage digital assets, which meets the highest institutional standards. Sygnum is also building an integrated equity issuance system to help companies raise capital from investors by tokenizing shares.

Truebit: Open source protocol to increase scalability of Ethereum. The TrueBit protocol allows trustless, secure, scalable consensus on large computations orders of magnitude beyond what’s possible in Ethereum today.

To learn more about these promising startups and see BlockNovum’s assessment & rating, have a look at the full research report: Swiss Blockchain Startup Newcomers – Map & Assessments  [PDF – 4.2 MB]

Liked this report?

Get in touch if you are interested in assessments of other startups, introductions, market research for other geographies / specific use cases, and BlockNovum’s consulting services. Write us at info@blocknovum.com.

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Disclaimer: Nothing contained herein constitutes investment advice and is not to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Full disclaimer in the complete report.

The post Swiss Blockchain Startup Newcomers in 2018 – Part 2 appeared first on BlockNovum.

Binance Coin (BNB) Investment Research Report

BlockNovum publishes its second public investment research report covering Binance Coin (BNB), the native token of the world’s biggest cryptoasset exchange.
The report consists of two parts:

1. Valuation of the BNB token price based on a long-term fundamental view of its utility value.
2. Qualitative assessment of Binance, the company behind BNB, based on BlockNovum’s due diligence methodology for early-stage blockchain startups.

Find our key results in the executive summary below, or read the full report to get an in-depth look at Binance / BNB.

Future cryptoasset investment research reports with valuations of handpicked cryptoassets are offered via a subscription model or on-demand.
For further details please get in touch with us at info@blocknovum.com .

Download the full BNB Investment Research Report (20 pages) here:

Executive Summary

Valuation

BlockNovum establishes a price target of $17.7 per Binance Coin (BNB) for long-term investors. We see this price justified by the present value of the underlying future utility values of three modeled BNB use cases until 2023:

1. Payment of trading fees on Binance exchange with BNB (incentivized through discount).
2. Repurchase of BNB through Binance profits.
3. “Others” including BNB demand for investment purposes, gas for decentralized exchange, voting power, referral bonus etc.

We expect 88% of today’s BNB present value to be based on current utility and 12% on speculation of future utility value.

Qualitative Assessment

BlockNovum believes that Binance was able to grow a massive user base and become the biggest crypto exchange due to its ability to move incredibly fast. They managed to assemble a team, get ICO funding, and launch a trading platform in a matter of weeks. The right market timing combined with their ability to onboard users very quickly, their wide ranging offering of popular cryptoassets, and their capabilities to handle large number of users was definitely one of the key points for Binance’s early success. The BNB coin with its utility for discounted fees and with its profit buyback mechanism was innovative for its time and further supported user growth.

While moving fast, Binance might have also stepped into some legal greyzones, by avoiding local regulations through rapid relocation to other (more crypto-friendly) jurisdictions. In general, we also have some concerns around Binance’s governance structure and company data availability. Furthermore, it can’t be ignored that Binance listed several low-quality tokens on their exchange, which might leave a tainted reputational mark.

Nevertheless, we see Binance as well-positioned as the leading cryptoasset exchange for a future where cryptoassets become more and more accepted in the broader public. Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”) and his team realized that by building a whole ecosystem around Binance and its native BNB token, Binance can positively influence its own market position and set itself up for long-term success. With their various initiatives, such as Binance Labs, Binance Blockchain, ICO launchpad, Academy, Crypto bank etc., Binance is offering services along the whole value chain and is distinguishing itself against their competition. As a result, they managed to become one of the leading exchanges and with CZ they have a popular crypto persona as their CEO.

Investment Thesis

The various initiatives with the BNB token at their center make us feel optimistic about BNB’s ability to capture long-term value. This view is confirmed by our long-term fundamental-based valuation that yielded a present utility value of one BNB token at $17.7. Therefore, BlockNovum issues a Buy rating for BNB since the current price lies significantly below BNB’s calculated current utility value and discounted PV. BNB seems to be undervalued considering the size of the “economy” that the Binance ecosystem facilitates.

Download the full Binance Investment Research Report here.

About BlockNovum

• BlockNovum is a Swiss Blockchain and Cryptoasset investment research & consulting firm. We provide professional assessments, fundamental valuations, and market research reports for the emerging asset class of cryptoassets & blockchain startups. Our target client segment includes institutional investors (VCs, family offices, [Crypto]-funds & other asset managers) with an interest in allocating capital to cryptoassets or blockchain startups. Additionally, we also offer our reports and consulting services to accredited investors, such as business angels.
• Mission: Founded in 2018, we are a young startup that wants to advance the quality of fundamental cryptoasset research to a professional level to provide institutional investors with high quality market research, due diligence, and valuations.
• If you are interested in similar reports or customized consulting services, please contact us at info@blocknovum.com

You can also find us on:Website, Twitter, LinkedIn

Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be nor should it be relied upon as a complete record or analysis; neither is it an offer nor a solicitation of an offer to sell or buy any security or cryptoasset mentioned herein. Nothing contained herein constitutes investment advice and is not to be relied on in making an investment or other decision. Full disclaimer in the complete report.

The post Binance Coin (BNB) Investment Research Report appeared first on BlockNovum.

Swiss Blockchain Startup Newcomers in 2018 – Part 1:

BlockNovum just published its second public Blockchain research report, which provides a comprehensive market overview about Blockchain startups in Switzerland. The report specifically focuses on “Newcomers” in the Blockchain space. This selection includes startups that did conduct an ICO in 2018 (or are planning to ICO later this year), that were newly founded in 2018, or that managed to get first measurable traction (through product release or media attention) in 2018.

The aim of the report is to provide a thorough overview about Swiss newcomers in the blockchain space for investors and industry exponents alike. The map helps navigate the ever-growing crypto landscape in Switzerland by listing all relevant new startups in one place and classifying them in different categories.

Download:

Full report: Swiss Blockchain Startup Newcomers – Map & Assessments  [PDF – 3.5 MB]

One Pager: Swiss Blockchain Startup Newcomer Map [PDF – 1.0 MB]

Swiss Blockchain Startups Newcomer Map:

Research Focus:

BlockNovum categorized the screened projects in five categories: Technical, Organizational, Financial, Retail & Entertainment, and Personal.

• Technical: Projects that provide a technical solution or service related to the blockchain technology. This includes new protocols, blockchain layers, file storage, computation, cyber security, artificial intelligence (AI), technical platforms, and infrastructure solutions related to the blockchain.
• Financial: Projects and services with a focus on financial applications and use cases. This category includes new cryptocurrencies, exchanges, payment systems, banking services, prediction markets, funds & investment services, investment related data & information platforms, tokenized assets, and others.
• Organizational: Projects with an organizational focus that mainly tackle challenges related to coordinating, tracking, and organizing people, resources, or data. Hence, this category consists of use cases around governance, supply chain, internet of things (IoT), content distribution, energy etc.
• Personal: This category includes startups that provide applications for personal use in daily life. Therefore, this section lists offerings around personal authentication, social networks, messaging, personal data & monetization, advertising, or personal healthcare.
• Retail & Entertainment: The last category includes services with a retail focus or with entertainment purposes. Blockchain startups in this category offer services around marketplaces, gaming, virtual reality, music, sports, art, education, ticketing, and others.

Furthermore, the research focus was explicitly set on projects that were founded and are operational in Switzerland. Companies that have their headquarters in Switzerland and/or conduct an ICO according to Swiss regulations were also included.

Overall BlockNovum identified 78 blockchain-related projects that matched the selection criteria. Note that “older” and more established cryptoassets / startups that did an ICO in 2017, or earlier, were not included in the map. Therefore, you won’t find the likes of Ethereum, Ambrosus, Modum, Lykke, Cardano, Shapeshift etc. in this overview.

Findings & Selection of 15 High Potential Startups:

In the report BlockNovum lists all 78 startups including a categorization and short description for each. Out of all screened startups, BlockNovum selected 15 projects which were assessed to have the highest investment potential. The selection was based on the expected product-market fit, viability of use cases, founding team and experience, stage of development, quality of website/whitepaper/MVP, and the token type & usage.
It has to be noted that several startups in the map came out of stealth mode very recently or are at a very early stage of development. Therefore, these projects could not be properly assessed yet and stay on our watchlist. Consequently this list is not to be seen as final and will be updated for interested clients in the future.

To illustrate BlockNovum’s market research and investment screening offering, an example assessment of long-listed and short-listed startups is given as well in the report. The long-list analysis covers the selected “Technical” and “Financial” startups, whereas the “short-list” assessment example is performed for “Proxeus“. This type of research is primarily geared towards investors who require a high-level market overview and assessment of several startups that match their investment criteria. Subsequently, short-listed projects can then be properly analyzed and evaluated with BlockNovum’s in-depth investment research & due diligence offering.

BlockNovum offers similar on-demand market screenings for various geographies and according to your individual requirements. If you are interested in BlockNovum’s market screening or in-depth investment research services, please contact us at info@blocknovum.com.

To see the selection of our top 15 blockchain startups, have a look at the full report here: BlockNovum_Market Screening_Switzerland-2018

The post Swiss Blockchain Startup Newcomers in 2018 – Part 1 appeared first on BlockNovum.

BlockNovum Releases Bitcoin Investment Research Report

BlockNovum, a Swiss Blockchain and Cryptoasset investment research startup, has released its first public investment research report. The report covers the most prominent cryptoasset to date – Bitcoin [BTC]. It showcases the scope of BlockNovum’s investment research and valuations services, and provides insights into the utilized cryptoasset assessment methodology.

BlockNovum issues a Buy rating for BTC, as long as the market price stays below the target price of $8,000. The price target represents the present value of BTC’s expected current and future utility values obtained through a fundamental valuation. BTC also shows substantial long-term price appreciation potential if use cases mature and gain more market share. Based on the valuation, a BTC price of above $10,000 is a realistic possibility in the next 12 months.

Bitcoin is one of many promising cryptoassets that BlockNovum is covering in the upcoming months. To get access to future cryptoasset research reports and BlockNovum’s on-demand cryptoasset investment consulting & research services, please get in touch with us at info@blocknovum.com .

The complete Bitcoin investment research report can be downloaded here:

Research Approach:

The report consists of an extensive fundamental valuation of Bitcoin, based on the expected utility values of its most promising use cases. BlockNovum’s financial model then calculates the present value of a Bitcoin token, by discounting the future expected utility value inherent to one BTC. Consequently, the identified present value then helps decide if Bitcoin is under- or overvalued at today’s price level.

In addition, alternative valuation approaches are illustrated, such as cost-based valuation or ratio-analysis, to achieve a holistic valuation perspective and to verify the $8,000 valuation result. Finally, BlockNovum analyzes Bitcoin according to a set of key qualitative assessment factors. The complete analysis is then synthesized into a recommendation and investment profile.

Summary of Bitcoin Investment Report:

BlockNovum expects the price of Bitcoin to have a current value of $8,000 per BTC. This price is justified by the present values of the underlying future utility values of modeled Bitcoin use cases. The store of value (“digital gold”) use case, along with the usage as a gateway to other cryptoassets, promises a substantial addressable market size for Bitcoin. Further markets where Bitcoin serves as a transfer facilitator (though at a smaller scale) are digital payments, remittances, and banking of the unbanked.

Bitcoin’s characteristics as a fully digital, safe, decentralized, scarce and autonomous currency free from any government control makes it a perfect fit as a digital asset, which is used primarily as store of value with appreciation potential. Furthermore, Bitcoin’s ability to reduce transaction costs and simultaneously increase speed through technological improvements (e.g. Lightning Network) makes its usage highly attractive in the other aforementioned industries.

BlockNovum also estimates that 66% of today’s present value of $8,000 is based on current utility value and 34% accounts for speculation on future utility value.

In addition, cost-based valuation predicts a price range of $7,440 and $8,670 per BTC, validating the fundamental valuation result. The ratio analysis – consisting of Network Value to Transactions Ratio (NVT), Price to Metcalfe Ratio (P/M), and Network Value to Metcalfe Ratio (NVM) indicates that BTC is currently largely supported by fundamentals, however, potential short-term corrections are possible if fundamentals don’t develop as expected. For example, NVM shows signs of a temporary overvaluation of BTC, which might lead cautious investors to delay investing for a few months.

Nevertheless, the qualitative assessment confirms BTC’s strong positioning in six assessment categories, which supports its leading role as a “blue chip” token in the cryptoasset space. Recent developments such as the announcement of Bakkt, a jointly launched company by Starbucks, NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange, and Microsoft to create an open and regulated, global ecosystem for digital assets, highlight Bitcoin’s perceived potential among leading corporations.

Recommendation:

BlockNovum issues a Buy rating for Bitcoin, as long as the BTC price stays below the target price of $8,000. Hence, investors should aim to buy Bitcoin below the target price and account for their preferred margin of safety. Bitcoin serves several promising use cases, which gives it fundamental value. In particular, the store of value use case, where Bitcoin serves as digital gold, offers enormous market potential with an estimated market size of $2.6 trillion served by BTC in 2028.  The qualitative assessment framework and ratio analysis confirmed Bitcoin’s strong and continuously growing fundamentals and further support BlockNovum’s price target. However, another short-term price correction is a possibility if fundamental on-chain activity does not develop as expected.

Download the complete Bitcoin investment research report here: BlockNovum Investment Research – Bitcoin (August 2018)

About BlockNovum:

BlockNovum is a Swiss Blockchain and Cryptoasset investment research & consulting firm. We provide professional assessments, fundamental valuations, and research reports for the emerging asset class of cryptoassets & blockchain startups. BlockNovum positions its cryptoasset research reports and services analog to established equity sell-side research providers. Therefore, our target clients include mainly institutional investors with an interest in allocating capital to cryptoassets, or that plan to invest directly in blockchain startups. Additionally, we also offer our reports and consulting services to accredited investors, such as angel investors.

If you are interested in similar reports or customized consulting services, please contact us at info@blocknovum.com .

The post BlockNovum Releases Bitcoin Investment Research Report appeared first on BlockNovum.